Does any one have any experience with adding myccorhizal fungus to a potted plant that would cause the plant to have problems? Can you add too much mycorrhizal fungus? Thanks
I don't have experience with this at all, but if you don't mind, may I make some speculations based on aspects I do know? Assuming it's a commercially prepared inoculum, would it have Nitrogen, Phosphorus etc included in the bag? I'm thinking an overdose of N/P/etc could cause problems for the plant. A commercially prepared inoculum would logically come in a few different types, so inoculum designed for a houseplant it would presumably contain an AM fungi, probably some species of Glomus, and I gather these are pretty "promiscuous," willing to hook up with many plant species. But I can't picture how an (reasonable) overdose of mycorrhizal inoculum by itself could cause a problem, since once all the root hairs of the plant are "colonized" there would not be a point of attachment for the excess fungi in the soil. So.... still speculating .... presumably the uninvolved Glomus would die back, or sit dormant in the soil. I don't think Glomus has the ability to attack/consume live plant parts, so that should not be a problem. If you had the wrong type of inoculum, containing EM fungi such as Pisolithus sp. I still can't picture how that would be a problem, as wouldn't it just die off or be dormant? Inoculum might make the soil a tastier substrate for other kinds of fungi, which might be inimical to plants, so ... can you see any fungal growth on the soil surface or on the plant? Hope something in there is helpful cheers, frog
I can't see how Myco could be a problem, the inoculum is either introduced or it isnt, the amount is irrelevant. If there is a fertilizer involved it would certainly be an issue.
OK, thanks, those are good answers. I think it was a fertilizer problem, or over-watering problem even, because otherwise the mycorrhizae seem to be working very well for other plants I have. Thanks!
